Subject: Re: Book on historical foods/recipes

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1993 21:17:29 GMT

There's a book that came out recently that discusses just
this sort of thing: terms, household objects, foods, etc
that are mentioned in novels and no longer in regular usage.
It's called "What Charles Dickens ate and Jane Austen Knew,"
or the other way around: What JA ate and CD Knew.
It should be at your local good bookstore.

Ssuanne
not ssuanne, but Susanne.

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From: [email-masked] (Pat Churchill)
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1993 04:03:59 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
 <[email-masked]> wrote:
> 
> Hi gang!
> 
>         I would like to know if there is a book out there anywhere that
> discusses what types of food were popular in different eras.  I have read a
> lot of books (like historical romances) and they discuss a lot of things
> that I have never heard of and I am assuming that the authors  had a guide of 
> some kind to go by.  I am thinking of doing some kind of paper for a
> literature class about the foods mentioned in a book, but don't have the
> faintest idea where to look!
>         Sorry if this has been asked before!  I am new to this group.  Any
> information, or even recipes to try would be appreciated!
> 
>                 Thanks in advance!
> 
>                         Lynette

Food in History, by Reay Tannahill is a fascinating read.
-- 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
            The floggings will continue until morale improves              
    [email-masked]  Pat Churchill, Wellington New Zealand     
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From: [email-masked] (Iain G Liddell)
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1993 07:28:05 GMT

The past ten years or so have seen an increase in the interest taken
by UK County Museums/Record Offices in their local cooking history.

One of the first and best was published by Clwyd (not a misprint - just
a standard Welsh word!!) back around 1980. The address is

Clwyd Record Office
Shire Hall
MOLD
Clwyd
UK

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[email-masked]
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From: [email-masked] (Paul Havemann)
Date: 19 Nov 93 17:34:11 EST

> information, or even recipes to try would be appreciated!

I'm new, too, so I'd appreciate any input.  Trying out old recipes can 
be pretty adventurous...

As general background, Jeff Smith (aka The Frugal Gourmet) wrote a
cookbook or two which might be useful.  One deals with early American
cuisine (18th, 17th century), another with -- if memory serves -- "Our
Immigrant Ancestors."  He does offer some historical context of many of
the recipes, as well as the background of the ethnic/historic group that
they are associated with. 

You might better like the sort of cookbook that I purchased from
Colonial Williamsburg (VA):  a collection of authentic colonial-era
(16th Century) recipes.  This is the Real Thing, and you can get a good
sense from the ingredients & instructions of what it was like to use any
and every edible thing you could find.  A lot of the recipes don't sound
overly appealing to modern sensibilities; for example, some make
reference to something called "force-meat," which isn't defined as
such, but seems to be bread fried in fat and used as a kind of stuffing.

What brought it home for me was a section of recipes for make-yer-own
alcoholic beverages which -- take it from me -- are pretty awful.  One I
tried is "blackberry shrub," which calls for blackberry juice and a
*lot* of sugar, which you hope ferments into something remotely
drinkable.  Yecch. 

If you're interested, I'll send you the name of the cookbook and the 
address of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.  I believe you can 
order it by mail.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Paul Havemann   ([email-masked])                   Resident Cynic, a.f.d-q

 "There are a lot of strange and inexplicable forces out there. Examples
  include Ross Perot and Microsoft, but there are others. Just take the
  Internet itself. Pretty weird, if you ask me."

      --The Usenet Oracle, in Usenet Oracularities Digest #604

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From: [email-masked] (Varda Ullman Novick)
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 1993 23:38:50 GMT

[email-masked] wrote:

: Hi gang!

:         I would like to know if there is a book out there anywhere that
: discusses what types of food were popular in different eras.  I have read a
: lot of books (like historical romances) and they discuss a lot of things
: that I have never heard of and I am assuming that the authors  had a guide of 
: some kind to go by.  I am thinking of doing some kind of paper for a
: literature class about the foods mentioned in a book, but don't have the
: faintest idea where to look!

"Food in History," by Reay Tannahill is "a world history of food from 
prehistoric times to today..., (it) thoroughly illuminates the essential 
role of food in world history, showing how humanity's quest for food has 
shaped the development of society..."  It was published by Crown 
Publishers in 1988.  Hope this helps.
-- 
Varda Ullman Novick
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Thomas Apple)
Date: 24 Nov 93 12:20:44 GMT

Reply-To: [email-masked] (Thomas Apple)
Followup-To: 
Organization: Combatant Craft Engineering Dept. Suffolk, Va.

Relative to this thread on books with historical recipes, I would like
to recommend "Seven Centuries of English Cooking" A collection of Recipes
by Maxime da la Falaise. I covers dishes from the 14th-20th centuries
citing the original text of the recipe followed by a modern interpretation
of it. Barnes and Nobles booksellers is one source for it. It usually costs
about $13-$15 and well worth it.

Tom Apple

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From: [email-masked] (David Friedman)
Date: 25 Nov 1993 13:43:29 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Thomas
Apple) wrote:

> by Maxime da la Falaise.

If this is the book I think it is, two points are worth mentioning. One is
that another title for what I believe to be essentially the same book is
The Seven Centuries Cookbook from Richard II to Elizabeth II. The other is
that the author's worked out version of one recipe I happen to have looked
at, Gingerbrede, is not very true to the original.   On the other hand, he
does include the originals, so that the reader has the opportunity to spot
errors and additions.

David Friedman
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Jenny Lynne Semenza)
Date: 24 Nov 93 08:14:26 -0700

In article <1993Nov19.173411.3111@hsh> [email-masked] (Paul Havemann) writes:
>Subject: Re: Book on historical foods/recipes
>From: [email-masked] (Paul Havemann)
>Date: 19 Nov 93 17:34:11 EST